


Time-stopping

by LunaP95



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Super Sons (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, First Kiss, M/M, Misunderstandings, Summer in the farm, but they love each other - Freeform, they are just really dense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28226883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaP95/pseuds/LunaP95
Summary: Jonathan Kent has been in love with Damian Wayne for a long time, the problem being that after a certain night the young Robin refuses to speak to him again. It has been almost a year without his best friend and the only thing Superboy wants is to have him back. Summer begins with good news for Jon as his long time crush is going to spend the whole season helping him around in his grandparent's farm. Would he be able to reconnect with Damian again?orFirst kiss in the Kent farm
Relationships: Jon Lane Kent/Damian Wayne, Jonathan Kent/Damian Wayne, Jonathan Samuel Kent/Damian Wayne
Comments: 8
Kudos: 112





	Time-stopping

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, hey, hey! So this is my gift for the damijon secret santa, who is no other that @leninille! You put that you wanted a first kiss on the Kents' farm during the summer holidays so here you have it. I have to admit this turned out to be longer than I expected but I hope you like it! I kind of wanted to add some smutty stuff at the end but I'm terrible at it XD

Once, when he was just a kid, his mother and his father were watching one of those cheesy romantic movies where the woman looks at her romantic interest and the whole world stopped around them. Jon had asked then if that was true, because even having superspeed, it was a bit weird imagining it. Lois had laughed, telling him it was just a cinematic tool to give more emphasis to the feelings. When she went to the kitchen to get some popcorn, Clark had whispered to him that his first kiss with his mother had been just like that. And maybe he had inherited his father’s romantic nature, but since that moment he had always dreamt of his first kiss being just like that. Time-stopping.

Which sucked because he was sixteen and so far, his love life had been an absolute disaster.

“Come on, Jon,” Kathy patted him on the shoulder while the bell called them to class. “You'll find your sweetheart soon, you’ll see.”

“I’m turning seventeen this summer,” he groaned. “And not one chance of romance in my life.”

“I wonder why?”

Jon knew Kathy was being sarcastic, they both knew why, but he still stuck out his tongue at her. The halls of West-Reeve High School were full of teenagers walking to their class with dread in their eyes. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glance of him at the end of the hall. Emerald eyes and black hair with an undercut, walking like he owned the place while his friend, Maya, elbowed him about something. Damian Wayne, famous son of Bruce Wayne, heir to the whole fortune and small celebrity from Gotham.

Also, the current Robin, but that was less known.

Also, his best friend since he was ten.

Well, ex-best friend.

The thing was, before the whole “Incident”, he always thought nothing could come between him and Damian. After all, they had experienced thousands of adventures together, surpassed all types of hardships together. Always together. But then “that” happened, and Damian started to distance himself from Jon, using his duties as the leader of the Teen Titans as an excuse to cut their time as the Super Sons. And at the beginning he thought that was okay, because it would be temporary, they were going to solve this because they trusted each other. Except it wasn't. It had been almost a year without Superboy and Robin working together, and even more since Jon Kent and Damian Wayne hung out together.

“You're staring again,” noted Kathy, following his eyes.

“Sorry,” Jon gave her a sad smile. “It’s just weird seeing him every day at school when he refuses to speak with me.”

“What the hell even happened between you two?” They both entered the classroom and took a seat. “One day you were best buddies, and the next he was avoiding you.”

“It’s… complicated.”

“Does it have anything to do with your crush on him?”

And there it was. The elephant in the room he did not want to address, but of course, Kathy would force him to do so. Because yes, Jonathan Samuel Kent had been so stupid - he had fallen in love with his best friend at the tender age of thirteen, and since then, had spent three years pining after him (to the distress of poor Kathy). And the worst part was, Jon had tried to forget him. He had even gone on a few dates with some girls and boys that were interested in him, but it didn't work. Kathy said he wasn't trying hard enough, but for Jon, it was difficult to find someone as great as Damian.

“I just don’t get it,” she said. “He is rude, arrogant and I swear I haven’t seen him smile in my life.”

“I have,” Jon answered. “You don’t understand. He might be a bit… rude, but he's the most trustworthy person you’ll ever meet. He's loyal and you just have to see him with his pets Kathy! The way he holds them as if they were the most precious thing on Earth. Damian is the kind of boy who would do anything for the ones he loves. If you could see him on patrol, how hard he works to make sure everyone is safe, no matter how difficult it is. And the way his eyes shine on the moonlight when he takes off his mask…”

“Jon, you’re rambling, again.”

A heavy sigh escaped his lips while Kathy patted him on the back. They'd had this conversation multiple times in the past, and so far, the result was always the same. Kathy still didn't know how Jon could be so in love with that asshole, and Jon felt more desperate. In times like this, he missed Damian so much - not that Kathy was a bad friend, but Damian could always understand him with barely a look. Or at least he used to. It had been so long without talking to him that maybe their connection was lost.

When the bell rang again, freeing the students of their classes, Jon ran towards Damian’s class. The second he caught sight of him, he used a spark of superspeed to approach him before he disappeared with one of his ninja tricks (Damian usually said they weren’t “ninja tricks” but Jon doubted that). Most of the students looked at him with a bit of pity knowing very well what they were about to see. Because Damian might have thought that not going on patrol or answering his messages would be enough, but Jon was nothing if persistent. When he noticed the change in his friend’s behavior, he had made it his mission to try to speak with him after school. That never worked - because again, ninja tricks - but the times he could catch Damian, he was always met with evasive maneuvers and excuses.

“Hey, D!” he put his arm around his shoulders, taking advantage of his height. Damian might have grown a little, but he was still taller. “Summer is just around the corner, aren’t you excited about college?”

“Kent, put your hand away or I will break it,” next to him, Maya chuckled as she found the threat funny.

“So, I was thinking,” continued Jon as if nothing had happened. “This is the perfect time for a Super Sons comeback, don’t you think? We could patrol Gotham and Metropolis together, just like the good old times?”

“Tt, I don’t have time for that,” he said. “As you said, I have to choose which of the horrendous options of what you call ‘higher education’ fits me better.”

“Oh, well, then I can help you! We can look at some…”

“No!” Damian turned around, this time looking at him. “I don’t know how many times I have to dismiss your futile attempts but I’m losing my patience, Kent, so let me be clear,” his face was just mere millimetres away. “We – are – not – friends.”

After marking each word with a pointy finger on his chest, Damian simply turned and left to the helicopter that was already waiting for him on the fields. Maya shot him an apologetic look while they both watched the heir disappear in the sky.

“He is just really stressed with the whole college thing,” even though, after the whole incident, they didn't hang out anymore, Maya always supported his attempts to re-befriend Damian. “Just give him time.”

“But I’m running out of time,” he groaned. “This is his last year and high-school is the only thing that still keeps us together. If I lose that, then I will lose him forever.”

Because the truth was that it had been his fault. He has been the one who had broken the trust they had. The whole “incident” was his to blame, and at the beginning, he completely understood why Damian did not want to talk to him. But he was not going to let his past mistakes to get in the way of his happiness. He needed to make amends with Damian, no matter how.

* * *

A knock interrupted Damian in the middle of his new painting. A blue sky, the shade almost the same as certain eyes that still haunted him at night. With a sight he left the brush on the easel while he allowed the person on the other side of the door to enter his quarters.

“Father. I thought you were on patrol.”

“Nightwing is handling it right now,” Bruce took a seat on his bed. “I was hoping to talk with you.”

“Is there a problem with the manner in which I’m fulfilling my duties?” Damian frowned. Sure, his father sometimes insisted on him spending too much time on patrol, but their days of antagonizing each other were far behind.

“Not at all, son,” he smiled. “We just had a… schedule issue. You see, as you know, this summer Cyborg and I are going to work on the updates of the Watchtower.”

“Yes, and Alfred is finally taking his well-deserved holidays, so Richard is going to stay at the manor for the summer.”

“About that... I’m afraid your brother can’t,” Damian turned, now fully paying attention to what his Father was saying. “He is about to go on an undercover mission in Blüdhaven and doesn’t know how long it will take.”

“So? Drake or Todd can stay here with me? Or you could surpass your irrational fear of leaving your almost eighteen year old son alone.”

“Tim is doing a special training camp with his Young Justice team and Jason is, according to him, too busy to nanny my kid”

“We both know he did not say kid.” Frowned Damian, imagining Jason calling him Demon Spawn. “What about Duke or Cass? Dammit, I will even accept Brown!”

“Stephanie is going with Tim to the training camp. Duke is spending the summer with his friends, and Cassandra has decided to go on a trip alone to find herself. Before you ask Barbara is also busy with her thesis.”

“Well, what a pity father. It seems I will have to stay all alone in the manor,” Damian tried hard not to show his happiness. The whole summer without any chaperone was like a dream come true.

“As much as I trust you,” smiled Bruce knowing his intentions. “I legally cannot leave you alone when you are still underage. That’s why Clark has offered to let you stay with them this summer at the Kent farm.”

Now, even though his father always blamed Alfred for his theatrics, the truth was that, when faced with turmoil, Damian usually imitated his father and chose silence over drama.

For about a few minutes, before he lost his mind, of course.

“You said WHAT!?”

“That you are going to stay with the Kents this summer,” Bruce raised an eyebrow. “You will stay with Jon, isn’t he your best friend?”

“No, he isn’t,” he groaned. “How are you the best detective in the world if you haven’t noticed that it has been about a year since I went out with Jon on patrol? You should give Drake the title for goddamn sake.”

“Look Damian,” his father sighed obviously tired. “You don’t have any other option, so you will have to get over whatever you did and apologize to Jon.”

“Apolo- Why would I ever do such a thing? I wasn’t the one that…” he stopped his speech just in time to not reveal anything to his father. It would be better if Batman did not know the reasons behind the disbanding of the Super Sons. “Nevermind, there has to be another way. Have you asked Diana?”

“Themyscira doesn’t allow men, Damian, you know that. But if you are so against the idea, I can always tell Alfred to stay here and cancel the reservation in that English cottage he has been so eager to go.”

“…”

“Well?”

“Fine,” he agreed. “But only because Pennyworth deserves it. And I demand to bring my pets with me.”

“Batcow will have to stay here, but you can bring Titus and Alfred the cat.”

Shaking his father’s hand as a way of confirming the deal felt like signing his death warrant. In a certain way it was, spending the whole summer with Jon was a nightmare come true. He could almost picture the boy trailing after him, trying to speak with him and recover the relationship they once had. It was going to be quite a long summer, but he trusted in his abilities to find a secluded place away from the super. As long as he didn't use his super hearing, he should be fine. And if his memory served him right, the farm was a free-of-power space. Or at least he was counting on it, because if not, then Damian would not be able to avoid his ex-best friend.

At the beginning everyone in the Teen Titans thought their fight was just something temporary. It wasn't the first time they spent some time without talking to each other, especially when they were always fighting for silly things. It took them at least one month until they asked what happened. They all knew the version he told them was a lie. Raven even tried to peek into his head, but the walls of his mind were too strong. No one would ever know what happened that night if it was up to him. However, that did not stop the Teen Titans from speculating. Even Beast Boy tried to talk to Jon about it. Damian didn't know all the details of that conversation, but Garfield told him later that Jon also refused to talk about that night, so the topic faded little by little until they merely mentioned him once in a while.

Maya was probably the only one who more or less knew what happened, not because Damian had told her, but because she was way too good at reading people, especially him. She could see how he stared at Jon when he was not looking, how he still kept every stupid present the boy used to give him. Along with his brother, Dick, Maya was the only one who knew how much Damian missed Jon. That was not to say he didn't have other friends! He still liked to hang out with Collin and the Titans, but it was not the same. Jon was the one who had been there through all the bad moments, the one who, even knowing his past, never judged him for it. He always thought he would be there by his side no matter what, but everything had turned to dust that night. And even though he was sure Jon thought he was the one to blame, Damian was sure he was the origin of the problem, though maybe not the way people thought. In the end, what happened that night wasn't that important, no matter what Jon believed. It was bound to happen sooner and later. But after that, Damian could no longer lie to himself. No matter how much he wanted his friend back, them being that close again would surely end with him hurting Jon, and that was something he would never allow.

Looking at his painting, the blue seemed to mock him in the same way destiny was. A whole summer avoiding Jon was going to be difficult, but it was the best for both of them. Like the good boy he was, Titus felt the distress of his master and licked his hand, trying to comfort him with little success. Damian patted him on the head and got up with a new resolve. If he really wanted to ignore a super, he was going to need to sneak a lot of tools out of the Batcave without his father knowing. And if there was one thing that always put Damian in a good mood, it was pissing Bruce Wayne off. Maybe he could even ask Jason for advice?

* * *

When Clark told Jon about the change of plans during the summer, the young boy had to use all his self-control not to jump of happiness. Fortunately, the last Kryptonian did not pay much attention to the sudden heartbeat of his son, he was probably just excited about his friend coming to spend the summer with him. However, his wife did raise an eyebrow at his reaction. Because Lois Lane had noticed the sudden disappearance of Damian Wayne in his son’s life, but she didn't want to pry. She did remember a night about a year or so ago when Jon came back from patrol visibly shaken. He had spent three days without leaving his room, and just when she and Clark were starting to be concerned, Jon came out as if nothing had happened. Her husband blamed it on some argument he had with Damian, but Lois knew better. No matter how much she tried to figure out what really happened, her son never said anything to her.

What Lois probably never suspected was how badly Jon wanted to tell her. He would have loved to get out of his room and talk to his mother about what had happened, but at that time, that would have also meant admitting some stuff he was not ready to. One of them being outing himself. They both knew, now, but at that time there had been just too much to deal with to even think of talking to his parent about his tremendous crush on his childhood friend. The same friend who was now going to stay with him for a whole summer on a farm he knew like the palm of his hand, with no civilization in kilometres. Meaning: Damian won't have anywhere to run.

Yes, this was his chance.

His chance to finally talk to him, get to his knees and apologize one thousand times about that night. Jon knew Damian wasn't going to forgive him the first time, but he had the whole summer to pester him, and if his theory was correct, it would probably only take him about three weeks before the young bat finally accepted his apology. Then he would just have to gently nudge him back into their old friendship and everything would be just like before. Just Superboy and Robin hanging around without any kind of romantic feelings in between. Or at least trying to.

Because deep down Jon could not stop himself from hoping that maybe, just maybe, there was a chance of Damian returning his feelings. He knew it was naïve to think such a thing after the whole “Incident”, but he was never good at letting his head rule over his heart. But his priority was, of course, to recover the lost friendship and get back that trust and understanding he missed so much. Once he got back his friend, he would figure out the rest. It shouldn't be that difficult.

Right?

* * *

Damian studied his surroundings carefully while Alfred the cat meowed inside his carrier. Fields and fields of corn, a red barn a few metres away, and the old house of the Kent family. He was already searching for the best place to hide when the door opened to reveal Martha Kent and Jonathan Kent Senior, followed by an excited Jon. Alfred fixed his hair from the wind the helicopter cast and smiled to the old couple.

“Welcome back to the farm, Mister Pennyworth,” smiled Martha.

“Always a pleasure Mrs. Kent,” Alfred stopped Jonathan from taking the luggage. “Oh, please, don’t. Young Master Damian is more than capable of taking care of his belongings.”

“I can do it in a sec!” Before anyone could react, Jon took the suitcase and left it in his room in mere seconds.

“Well, seems like the lad is quite excited,” laughed Mr. Kent. “He has been like that for weeks.”

“Grandpa!” blushed Jon trying really hard not to look at Damian.

“There's no need for you to stay more than necessary, Pennyworth, you are going to lose your flight,” cut Damian before the older part of the group started a conversation that he knew would take hours. “Mrs and Mr Kent, I appreciate your hospitality, but I’m terribly exhausted from the trip. So if you would show me where am I to sleep, I would highly appreciate it.”

“Oh my, forgot how eloquent your boy is,” Martha pinched his cheeks just like she did when he stayed at the farm not that so long ago.

With Pennyworth finally deciding to leave for the airport, Damian walked quietly behind Ma and Pa Kent (as they insisted to be called). Jon was just a few steps behind, his eyes never leaving him for a moment. If he was going to be under such scrutiny, it wasn't going to be easy to avoid the superhuman teenager. At least he could hold off until tomorrow, with the excuse of being tired from his travel, though both of them knew his identity as Robin had him going bigger distances in worse circumstances. But the good response from the Kent elders confirmed they were not aware of his friendship with Jon being different, so maybe he could use that to his advantage, sticking to them was probably his best option in order to avoid his old partner.

“And here is your room, son,” smiled Mrs Kent signalling a familiar door.

“This is Jon’s room,” he stated as if none of the people there already knew that.

“Of course,” Mr Kent patted him on the shoulder. “We figured you boys would want to share, like always.”

“Actually, if you don’t mind…”

“That’s perfect, grandpa!” interrupted Jon. “See, Dami, I already left your suitcase here.”

Damian frowned, not really happy about the advantage his adversary had taken from him. Sleeping in the same room as Jon was definitely not on the plan, but now he was seeing that the shield he was counting to have came with setbacks. This little miscalculation was definitely a defeat, but there were still battles to be fought in which he was sure to be victorious. Following his previous claim of exhaustion, Damian quickly went to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Jon bid goodbye to his grandparents and got into his room the same moment that his friend was covering his head with the sheet from the spare mattress. The young half-Kryptonian sighed, but he was not going to let this go like other times.

“We need to talk,” even though Damian did not move, Jon knew he was listening. “Look, you are going to spend two months with me here. And I know you,” he sat on his bed, looking down to the bundle of sheets where his friend was hiding. “You probably have a thousand plans to avoid me but let me tell you, it's not going to work. I’m going to follow you and make your life is a living hell on this farm - unless we talk.”

“That’s brave coming from you, Kent,” answered Damian, pushing the duvet away. “You think I cannot stand two months of your incessant bickering? Please, I was trained by the…”

“League of Assassins, yes, I know. Everyone knows,” Jon rolled his eyes. “You are the greatest thing in the universe. Now that we have established that and your ego doesn’t feel threatened anymore, maybe you can stop being a butt and actually talk to me.”

“Fine, you want to talk? Let’s talk,” his green eyes stared at Jon. “All of this waiting for me at the end of class - and however you got to get me to spend the summer here…”

“That was just your family being a mess.”

“… is so we can exactly what?” continued Damian ignoring his comment. “Reconnect? Go back to being friends? Well, sorry to be the bringer of bad news, Kent, but we can’t. And you know why.”

“I already said I’m sorry, okay? Why can't we just forget about it?”

“Because you betrayed me!” he roared. “The friendship we had was based on mutual trust, and yes to a certain extent we could maybe say we were ‘best friends’. But that night you betrayed the trust that was between us. So no, maybe is easy for you to forget what you did, but for me, it isn’t,” Damian turned around giving the conversation to an end.

“But… I miss you,” Jon whispered.

His voice was barely a threat but even without superhearing, Damian still heard it. He felt a pang in his heart at the hopes that rose in his heart, but he extinguished before they dared to cloud his mind. That was always his problem with Jon, he let himself dream, have hopes for a future that was not going to come true no matter how much he wanted. Because the result had been clear since that night; he and Jon could not be friends, it was as simple as that. Now he only needed Jon to understand it.

“Me too,” he admitted. “But I’m sorry, we cannot go back to what we were before. Please just… just leave it.”

So Jon stood there, watching his lost friend drift into sleep while his whole heart broke into little pieces. Has he been a fool all this time thinking they could retrieve what they had? Was there really no way to fix this?

* * *

No.

That was the first word that appeared in his mind when he woke up. Jon had known since the beginning that being friends again with Damian was not going to be easy, but he refused to give up. After all, it was all reduced to a simple truth.

His life was better with Damian in it.

Even if the boy never returned his feelings, his mere existence was enough to make him happy. The assurance of having someone who fully understood what it was to have a hero like Superman or Batman as a father, who had seen him in his worst moment and still stayed there, was enough to make him sleep easier. So, when his eyes noticed the empty gap where Damian should have been sleeping, he put on his clothes and almost flew down the stairs to look for his friend.

“Hey, grandpa,” the smell of pancakes covered the kitchen when he entered. “Did you see Damian?”

“Oh, good morning, kid,” Mr Kent flipped a pancake on the pan. “No idea where your friend went but he did take some breakfast with him so try with the smell.”

His grandfather followed the comment with a wink as technically Jon was not supposed to use his superpowers inside the house, but everyone knows grandparents always let their grandkids do whatever they wanted. As long as Lois never knew, none of them seemed to have any problem with their arrangement. After shoving some pancakes in his mouth, Jon left the main house in search for his friend. Alfred the cat raised his head when he approached the cornfield, but did not seem to be very invested in his master’s issues as he went back to sleep. Following the smell of sugar and syrup in the air, he arrived at a small clearing, probably due to the rains last month, where his target was quietly sitting reading a book. Between the corn plants, Jon could see those green eyes completely immersed in the letters printed on the paper, though he was sure any small noise would have Damian taking out the knives he hid on his shoes. There was something strange in watching him like this, all quiet and peaceful. It was a picture that most people did not think suited the young bat, but Jon thought fit him perfectly. Because, for him, the best version of Damian was when he was happy, without any of his past weighing his shoulders or his duties or the future disturbing a nice moment. It was those instants suspended in time that Jon wanted to capture in his memory forever, while he painted himself in the picture, resting his head on Damian’s lap while his voice lulled into sleep.

“I believed we reached an agreement yesterday,” Fine, Jon must admit that even in his imagination Damian still had that snobbish tone.

“Of course,” over the years he had learnt that if you wanted to approach Damian when he was this defensive, the best option was to give him some ground. “But you are still spending the summer here and slackers don’t get lunch.”

Green eyes raised from the page to stare at him. There was a thin layer of interest hidden under the disdain of real work in his eyes. Obviously displeased with his message, Damian stood up and walked by him, bumping his shoulder against his in an attempt to antagonize him. A pity that Jon knew him too well to fall for those little tricks. The two boys headed towards the barn where Mrs. Kent was tossing some hay. She asked them to please finish the task, as her back was hurting and she didn't want to risk breaking something. After supervising them for awhile, she decided they were trustworthy enough to leave them alone.

Jon pinched some hay with his fork while from the corner of his eyes, he watched Damian trying not to spoil his shoes with the dirt of the barn. It was almost funny in a way, how smart he usually was and how he seemed to forget that he was supposed to spend the summer in the middle of the countryside when he had to choose his wardrobe. They worked in silence, Jon thinking about a way to make Damian feel comfortable enough so he could finally talk to him. From the corner of his eyes, he saw something moving which made him smile. His companion seemed to realize it and turned the fork, ready to attack whatever was disturbing his work, but suddenly stopped when the cow stood next to him and licked his face.

“Oh gosh I really thought you were going to pinch Bessie with your ninja tricks,” Jon started laughing.

“They are not ninja tricks!”

“Yes, they are!”

“I’m a trained assassin, I will not be categorized as an Asian stereotype.”

“Nah, you are more like the rich brat stereotype.”

In a mere second, the tense air shifted when Damian turned and left the fork on the floor. Even before he pounced on him, Jon already knew his intention judging by his defensive stance. Not wanting to wait to be the target of his fury, Jon started running through the barn laughing like a madman. If he was using just a bit of super-speed in order to avoid getting caught by Damian, neither of them mentioned it.

“Come back right now, Kent!” even though Damian was pretending to be mad at him Jon could hear a tint of laughter in his voice.

“Oh no, he is going to ask to see the manager!” he mocked.

“I’m not a Karen!”

Jon laughed a bit, proud of Damian for understanding the reference as he usually kept away from pop culture. Seeing the upper floor of the barn, Jon jumped until he reached the border and sat there, looking down at his friend with a smirk. His years with Robin had taught him to always look for the advantage against his opponent and in this case, without a ladder Damian could not catch him.

Or at least that was what he thought.

Taking into account how well he knew the young Wayne, Jon was happy to accept that this time he had underestimated him. When they used to go on patrol, Robin told him several times that he trusted too much in his powers, and that he should pay more attention to what their enemies had under their sleeves. But as that was a job, the bat always did, and Jon never made a habit of thinking about it. Which was how he suddenly felt a familiar rope attaching itself to his foot pushing him into the ground. In his defense, it has been a while since he went out with Robin.

“ARRGH!” he screamed.

“Fly you dumb idi- uph!”

Their bodies collided with a dry sound taking them to the ground. Jon opened his eyes to find himself on top of a very flushed Damian. For a moment they both stood there, looking at each other eyes and getting lost in the evident tension that was between them. Jon tried really hard not to let his eyes travel to his lips. He was actually making progress here, with Damian fooling around with him again. He refused to throw the small hopes he had to retrieve their friendship away just because of his horny teenage brain. But that was proving to be almost impossible now that he had the boy of his dreams under him.

Before he could stop himself, he started to lower his head to capture those tempting lips that haunted him at night, while Damian stood there laying on the floor not moving a muscle.

Until he did.

Kicking him in the stomach.

Very hard.

“Agh!” Jon rolled, putting his hands where Damian’s knee had sunk a mere second ago. “That hurt!”

“And I should feel sorry for it?” if Jon thought his tone was bad enough, nothing prepared him for the look he was throwing at him.

During their time working together, Jon had seen Damian throw hateful looks to a lot of people. His eyes seemed to become greener, like two pools of emerald fire that promised pain and destruction to whoever dared to challenge them. Jon used to think he never wanted to the one looked at like that until the whole “Incident”. At that time, he had expected to receive one, but to his surprise, the way Robin had looked at him was way worse.

Sadness.

That was the best word Jon could use to describe the look on Damian’s face that night. Sad that what he had done had broken what they had built all those years. And Jon was ready for confusion, disgust or even hate. But not sadness.

He still was not prepared for it when Damian looked at him like that again.

“I will finish my chores by myself,” he heard him say. “And stay away from me.”

* * *

The rest of the week happened in a similar fashion, Jon tried to talk with Damian using the farm as an excuse but the older boy either ignored him or just did not answer him. But no matter what kind of words Damian used, the boy still kept coming. Lying on his bed, he breathed the little peace he was granted while Jon was downstairs helping his grandmother. So far, his plans of hiding did not work very well, as he was not counting on Jon being able to use his powers inside the farm. He needed to rethink this, find a way to finally push him away.

Easier said than done.

One option was to stick to the Kent grandparents in order to avoid Jon speaking about that night, but that would also mean spending actual time with the merry farmer couple. And while Damian actually liked Mr. and Mrs. Kent, he was starting to get tired of the constant talk about “what a great boy our Jon is”. If he did not know better, he would say they were trying to set up him with their grandkid, which brought a strange feeling in his stomach. He wished he could be happy about that. But he could not allow himself to feel in such a way.

He could not wish to have kissed Jon back in the barn.

Because against all prognostics, Damian Wayne had fallen in love with someone. The bad news was that the person in question was Jonathan Kent, aka his former best friend. And as a good heir to his father, his way of dealing with feelings was not the healthiest one. It actually took him eight long months of reflection to realize what his feelings for Jonathan were. However, the hardest part was to know what to do about them. It was almost funny how Damian had such a big family and yet none of them was able to provide good advice on the subject.

Richard, being the hopeless romantic he was, insisted that he should just confess as if putting their friendship at risk was nothing. Jason told him to “just shove your tongue on his mouth, the kid has the hots for you”, which also made Damian wonder why he had even asked the former second Robin. With Drake, it was a bit tricky, because everyone knew about his thing with Conner, and Damian did not want to risk being exposed. But of course, Red Robin quickly got his ear on his problem and shared with him a whole research project he had made when he started to have feelings for his Kryptonian. Steph laughed for about an hour and then ruffled his hair, saying how much he had grown, which would have made Damian quite proud if it had not been followed by a full night of romantic comedies movie night in order to “educate him”. Cass just shrugged and suggested he challenged Jon to a death fight - probably the best advice he got, so far. Duke choked on the popcorn when he asked why they were watching “Crazy Rich Asians” and patted him on the shoulder after.

So, a total waste of time.

Maybe he should have asked Alfred, although seeing his romantic report was almost as bad as his Father probably he did well keeping it quiet. Because there was no way he was having that kind of conversation with his own Father.

It was easy at first, to hide his true feelings for Jon. Just going on patrol, spending the weekends in each others house. Damian found himself a great actor in pretending he did not notice Jon’s every move. Carry must be very proud of him. His theory was that, if he pretended not to be in love with him, his feelings would later disappear. It took him at least four months to realize his plan was not working, and at that point, he was actually getting a bit tired of it.

Damian had been letting his hopes up for a time, his young mind telling him maybe there was a chance for him and Jonathan. After all, he was the son of the Greatest Detective, and even he had noticed the glances Superboy thought he could not see. But there was still a possibility of being wrong, so for the time he decided to observe and analyse how the young Kryptonian behaved when he was with him in order to draw his own conclusions.

Then that night happened.

* * *

They were on patrol like so many nights before. There had been an explosion in an oil plant close to Metropolis, nothing too big, but dangerous enough to need the two young heroes. The colorful bombs and the plants told Robin it was probably Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, who were relatively easy to deal with, except Superboy seemed to have taken a soft spot for those two criminals, as if they were not trying to burn a whole plant with innocent workers inside.

“I get it,” he complained while he lowered Robin to the floor. “But you must admit they are kind of cute.”

“Seriously?” Robin groaned while he scanned the building. “Exactly what point of being a criminal is cute?”

“Well, aren’t they together?” shrugged Superboy. “Two girlfriends fighting against the world and protecting the environment sounds cute to me.”

“You are impossible.”

Robin had not waited for Superboy to answer, preferring to use his grappling gun to swing through the plant. They did not need to exchange any type of information as they already knew how to deal with that kind of problem. Superboy would take the civilians outside the danger zone while Robin located and neutralized the villains. That was how they usually worked, with Superboy helping him with his plans. If their enemy was strong enough, though, they always ended up fighting together. After all, everyone who had seen them in action could notice how in synch they were, and how they covered each others weaknesses.

“Hey, look dear, the baby bat is here!” laughed Harley Quinn seeing the young hero land close to them.

“Oh, look the crazy clown is here,” he answered throwing some batarangs at them.

“Don’t be angry, little bird,” Quinn let them dive into her bat while Ivy raised a shield of branches. “Shouldn’t your boyfriend be controlling your outbursts?”

“He is not my…”

“Did someone call me?”

Like a blue flash, Superboy took Harley up in the sky so Ivy would focus on him while Robin threw the sleeping gas at her. However, they had already fought several times and knew about their dynamics. Ivy summoned a plant which grabbed Superboy while her girlfriend threw the bat at the gas bomb. The boy of steel was not expecting that and let the woman go before crashing to the ground. A beautiful flower opened easing her fall while Robin jumped to dodge the poisonous thorns. With his best asset tangled on the floor, Robin decided to hide behind a column to rethink his plan. His best possibility was to restrain Poison Ivy so he could focus on dealing with her partner. He never did understand why people couldn't see how dangerous Harley Quinn could be if she set her mind to it. With the pheromone breathers, the only thing Superboy and he had to fear about the former biologist was her plants. Or that was what he thought, because just a peak from his hiding spot showed him that his partner had no mask, now. And of course, Poison Ivy would notice something like that. He could not hear whatever the villain was whispering to his friend, but he was not going to stay there doing anything. With batarangs on his hands, he stepped out of the column ready to release him when a glitter bomb fell over him.

“Quinn!” he roared.

“Come one, kiddo,” she laughed. “Don’t you want to have some fun with Auntie Harley?”

“Tell your girlfriend to let him go or else,” the woman dodged his punch.

“It’s wife now,” she showed him the brand-new ring on her finger. “But don’t worry, my sweetie is just giving Superboy the chance of having what he wants so much.”

A kick in the stomach seemed to shut her up but Robin barely had time to enjoy his little victory. The scene in front of him was one of pure horror, if he did not know better, he would be sure this was all a sick dream produced by Scarecrow. Because right there, just a few metres away from him, his crush was kissing a villain. Harley’s words echoed inside his mind. Was that what Jon wanted? Making out with Poison Ivy in the middle of a burning oil plant? Or was it just the kicks of kissing a villain? Before he could react, Harley took her wife away knowing the young hero would not chase them. Robin was too busy figuring out the meaning of all that. With some difficulty, Superboy broke the branches that tied him and approached him, his eyes still a bit unfocused form the toxin.

“D-damian,” he suddenly hugged his friend. “Thank Rao you’re here.”

It took Robin a few seconds to notice where Superboy's hands were heading in his shocked state, but as soon as one started to go way lower his back, he pushed his friend away.

“What do you think you are doing?”

“D, come on, I… she did something to me…” the hero kept trying to grab him, but Robin knew it was just the toxin working. Without Poison Ivy there, Superboy was just holding to the closest person to him.

“Cut the crap,” the confusion has finally given up to the rage. Maybe it was true the toxin could take control of someone, but that was after Poison Ivy had kissed them. And he had seen it. Jon had been the one to close the gap. “I’m not stupid.”

“J-just listen for a minute, I need to tell you…”

“Save it,” he turned around, throwing a vial of antidote behind him without even looking him in the eyes. “I know what happened.”

“You do?” Superboy fidgeted with the antidote, his eyes still studying his body. “Crap, I suppose you do, nothing can really get passed you… w-what do you think?”

“I think it's disgusting,” he started to walk, his eyes burning and his heart breaking at each step he took. How could have been so stupid to think he could be loved? “I think having those kind of thoughts for… someone like that is a complete insult to your legacy.”

“Wait! Look, I know it's probably not…”

“Don’t you try to use excuses with me!” If he was affected by the look of utter sadness that Superboy had in this instant, he did not let it show. “We are friends and I trusted you! Even with you being a half-alien who doesn’t know how to tie his own shoes, I trusted you! But tonight… tonight you stepped on the moral code you swore to protect, and I will not allow it,” tonight you broke my heart, and it will never be the same, he wanted to say.

“Please, I know it was wrong, but if you just let me explain...”

“There is nothing to explain, Kent,” it has been years since Robin had used his surname to refer to him. “You made your decision very clear. I’m not sure I can continue a partnership with someone who puts his desire before his duty.”

He knew Jon was trying to say something, probably not wanting to part ways like this. But it was too much. Damian was barely holding himself together after that, and the last thing he wanted to hear was Jon explaining how he had this crush on a villain, or how he just wanted to know what it was like to kiss a woman. He should have known better, of course destiny would not give him a chance of happiness with someone like Jon. Pure light could not mix with tainted darkness, just like his best friend would never choose a person as twisted as him as a partner. He had been blinded by his own feelings and the only thing he got was pain and sorrow. There was only one course of action, and it was severing his contact with Jon as much as he could. No more Supersons, no more weekends playing videogames, maybe even changing schools if he got the courage enough to suggest it to his Father. Although that might arise questions he did not want to answer, Damian could not keep going like nothing had happened. He first needed to drown those feelings, kill them until Jon was nothing more than another hero he used to work with. It was for the best after all, he would not have to see the love of his life with someone else, and Jon would be free of his poisonous influence. Maybe it would take Jon some time to understand the change, but he would have to accept it. Jonathan Kent and Damian Wayne would never be friends again, he was going to be sure of that.

* * *

A month had almost passed by with no real progress, and Jon was starting to get tired of this cat and mouse game they had going on. Every morning Damian pretended to be asleep until his grandmother called them both for breakfast. Depending on the day, Damian would either glue to one of his grandparents or run off to some corner of their field until Jon found him. The first one was the worst, because it prevented him from really talking about anything. The second, though every time it took him longer to find him, at least secured him some conversation, even when this one was a bit one-sided. The worst part was that he knew he was making progress. Damian had agreed to work with him on the farm several times, which always ended with some stupid shenanigan that broke the moment when Jon got too close. It was so frustrating, having a taste of what they used to be without being able to recover it.

However, fate seemed to smile at him, because his grandparents were out for the day to go to one of those farm conventions - and the best part of all? Damian didn't know. He had been so cautious in going to bed before Jon to avoid speaking to him that he missed the whole conversation. So, when Damian finally entered the kitchen, expecting the safe shield of his grandparent, the young bat stood there looking both ways searching for them until he turned his head slowly to Jonathan.

“Where are your grandparents?”

“Oh, right, totally forgot to tell you,” Jon tried not to smirk, but he failed miserably. “They're going to spend the day at the Corn Convention, but I told them we preferred to stay here at home, you know? Just the two of us.”

“I see,” still in his pajama shorts and baggy shirt, Damian started to walk outside the house. “I’m leaving then.”

“What?” Jon ran after him until he grabbed him on the porch. “Can you stop the dramatics for one second?”

“That depends, can you stop deceiving me and betraying my trust?”

“Ok,” he sighed trying to calm himself. He had to be the bigger person here. “Let’s start this all over. We have a whole day to figure out what are we going to do with our friendship, I just need you to please listen to me and stop avoiding me.”

“I told you I didn’t want to,” Damian pushed his hand away and continued walking. “Why don’t you drop it already? We are not going to be friends again!”

“You said you missed me,” using his super speed, he stopped right in front of Damian. “And I miss you too. I’m not saying to forget everything, but can we at least try to start over?”

“Sure, and then we can hold hands and walk over the rainbow,” he frowned.

“For Rao’s sake, do you have to be an asshole all the time?”

“Yes, ask anyone. I’m a certified asshole, so you don’t have to pretend you are sorry.”

“I’m not pretending!” In his eyes, Jon could feel a tinge of heat in response to his anger. “I am sorry! Are you even listening to what I've been saying?” He grabbed Damian by his shoulders. “I’m sorry about what happened that night! I’m sorry about grabbing you inappropriately in the middle of a burning plant! I’m sorry for being a disgusting gay! And I’m sorry for falling in love with you!”

“Well, you should have thought about that before… wait, what?”

“I promise you I’m working on it if you just…”

“Hold on just a second,” Damian was pretty sure he must have misheard him. “Did you just say you were in love with me?”

“Yes? Didn’t you know that?”

The soft breeze of the countryside was the only sound that crossed between them during those seconds, each one realizing what the other meant. For Jon, it was a new hope, because all this time he thought Damian hated him for who he was, but now it meant there was another reason from their fallout. So maybe they could truly fix what they had. For Damian it was different, after that night, he thought they were over. It was clear to him that Jon did not feel the same way. But it seemed he was wrong, because there they were in the middle of the countryside while the sun was going up the sky while the wind played with Jon’s black locks and he swore he never felt more attracted to him.

“You love me,” he repeated, the words sounding like a melody inside his head.

“Of course, I do. Wait, what did you think happened that night?”

“You kissed Poison Ivy! And Quinn said it was what you wanted so I thought you had a crush on her or something.”

“What the heck Damian!?” shouted Jon. “Gross, she could be my mum.”

“Well, why did you kiss her then?”

“Because…” oh shit, he really had to tell him now. “S-she knew. And she told me I could use the excuse of the toxin to… you know, checkifyouwantedme, but I’m so sorry. It was messed up, and when you told me you knew what happened, I thought you heard us and… I was so desperate! I had been pining after you for years! Years! And that stupid Robin costume wasn't really helping my horny teenage brain because it really suits your ass and I really like your ass but now I probably realize I shouldn’t have said that because I still don’t know how you feel and it's going to be super weird if you…”

“I like you too, you moron!” the empty fields echoed his declaration. “But you kissed a villain in front of me, what did you want me to think?”

“I grabbed your ass just five seconds later, I thought that would give you a hint.”

“Do you even know me? I don’t know shit about feelings.”

“Well, then what about this?”

Erasing the gap that was between them, Jon crushed his lips against Damian's. It made him a bit angry that they could have been doing this for a year, but they were too busy tiptoeing around each other. And his mom was actually right, time didn't stop when you kissed the person you love. The universe did. It was as if everything disappeared for a moment. The grass, the farm, the sun shining in the sky, nothing mattered. It was just Damian and him, fusing with each other. His hands had traveled almost instantly to his waist to pull him closer while Damian tangled his in his black hair. A sudden shiver ran through his body while he tasted the mouth he had dreamt of almost every night. The whole world could have ended at that moment, and they couldn't have cared less. They still had a lot of issues to resolve, especially in the communication field, but that was a problem for the Superboy and Robin of tomorrow. Today they were going to enjoy each other. When the breathing necessities of Damian forced them to separate, they would laugh about their own stupidity. Damian will notice that he is still wearing shorts in the middle of the countryside, and unlike his half-Kryptonian partner, he does feel the cold. So, Jon will mock him, but slowly guide him to the house, and if they spend the day in bed making out with each other, that was no one's business but theirs.

The future was still uncertain, the happiness of their newfound feelings too new to ever think about what they could bring. But in their joined hands, they discovered a hope they never believed possible. Jon finally had the opportunity to be with someone who saw him as he was, not just the son of Superman. It would take some time for Damian to be as open with his feelings as him, but now he knew he could be loved, even with the darkness of his past. And it may not be easy to stay together, but both were sure it was something worth fighting for. Because what they had was pure, was strong, was eternal.

It was time-stopping.


End file.
